Universal Studios ups Sperber

Exec to head partnerships and licensing arm

Universal Studios has upped Stephanie Sperber to president of Universal Partnerships and Licensing.

Sperber has long been the studio’s top exec brokering corporate alliances, promotional partnerships and licensing deals with brands for the studio’s slate of movies, homevideo releases, theme parks and venues such as CityWalk.

She has led the Universal Partnerships and Licensing group as exec VP since it was formed last year after the consumer products group and Universal Studios Partnerships division merged. Before that, she had run USP as exec VP since 2005.

During her time at the studio, Sperber has inked deals with American Express, Burger King, Kellogg’s, Cartier, Xerox, Sharp, Coca-Cola, Best Buy, Toyota, Volkswagen and Hallmark, among others.

The deals that essentially enable brands to tie in with high-profile entertainment properties have helped U collect considerable coin. But they’ve also given U valuable marketing muscle to launch new films.

Before joining U, Sperber was exec director of marketing at Turner Broadcasting, overseeing the brand marketing for Hanna-Barbera Prods. and managing the consumer launches of numerous TV shows as well as the relaunches of classic cartoon brands including “The New Adventures of Jonny Quest,” “The Flintstones,” “Scooby Doo” and “The Jetsons.”